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Never replace another AWD collar/sleeve... EVER again!

161K views 218 replies 84 participants last post by  Levi Hun 
#1 · (Edited)
I live in an area that is particularly hard on my AWD system. Mountainous terrain + snowy winters have not been friendly to me R. I've gone through 2 AWD sleeves (the coupler between the trans and angle gear) in a year and now the angle gear input shaft was completely stripped. So what could I do now?

I wasn't really in the mood to spend Texa$ on an angle gear only to have it chew through a couple more sleeves. So my options were to A) leave it in FWD mode indefinitely, which would make winters unbearable and take a lot of fun out of the car or B) Apply some thinking, some drill bits, and a welder to the problem.

I chose option B. I mean, what's the worst that could go wrong? Maybe I'd have to buy an angle gear if my solution didn't work (which I would otherwise have to do anyway)?

So from research and my own experience, I know that the sleeve basically always fails on the angle gear side and that the transmission side of the collar engages more tighly and has much more surface area of spline engagement so I'm not too worried about that side of the sleeve failing. What if I figured out a way to weld the sleeve to the angle gear's input shaft? If everything worked, that would likely strengthen the one really weak link in the driveline.

Step 1: Purchase new sleeve/seal kit
Step 2: Remove angle gear
Step 3: Drill 1/2" diemater hole in angle gear right in line with the splines on the angle gear input shaft.
Step 4: Drill 3 seperate 3/8" holes in the sleeve on the angle gear side of the collar equidistant along the perimeter of the sleeve.
Step 5: Install sleeve onto the angle gear, tighten sleeve onto the angle gear using a threaded rod/washers/nuts. This is imporant because the sleeve must stay straight and alined with the input shaft while welding to avoid warpage or misalignment of the sleeve.
Step 6: Rotate angle gear shafts to line up one of the sleeve's holes with the larger hole drilled in the case of the angle gear. This allows access with a mig welder.
Step 7: Plug weld the hole in the sleeve to the input shaft. Rotate input shaft to reveal the next hole drilled in the sleeve. Plug weld each hole.
Step 8: remove threaded rod and install angle gear onto the trans.

And that's it! I re-installed the welded angle gear. AWD is back and stronger than ever, and the car is driving great! A 3/8" plug weld, done properly, should have a shear strength somewhere in the neighborhood of 20,000-30,000psi and I have 3 of these welds on the collar so it should hold just fine for the remaining life of the car.

It really is very nice not to ever have to worry about that again! Yes I have pics, and I will post them them as soon as I have a chance to get them hosted.
 
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#2 ·
I thought Volvo engineered the sleeve to fail $100 part vs replacing the angle gear $4000 IIRC?


Sent from : can't think of anything funny.
 
#5 ·
I thought Volvo engineered the sleeve to fail $100 part vs replacing the angle gear $4000 IIRC?
.
Now that I think about it this was proven wrong in subsequent discussions - So forgive my brain fart.

Sent from : can't think of anything funny.
 
#3 ·
so you drive around in permanent AWD?
 
#4 ·
No, he welded his collar/sleeve to the angle gear's input shaft. Haldex in the back of the car is still doing it's job.
 
#6 · (Edited)
When the sleeve goes it usually takes the angle gear with it anyway. My angle gear input shaft splines were so badly stripped that just changing the sleeve again would not have done a thing, so I really had nothing to loose here. Actually the drivline on this car is fairly strong... Don't seem to see many trans failure stories and it's still highly front-wheel biased, so it doesn't see the kind of stress that's seen in systems with an actual center differential (50/50 all time). I come from the world of the 5 speed Subaru WRX with the "glass transmission," the car that blows through 2nd/3rd gears regularly (I went through 3), so this driveline is damn near bullet-proof in comparison by my standards.

The downside in a haldex system is that it is not really all time AWD... It is front wheel drive until the computer that controls it decides it should be 4wd... There is no center diff, but rather a clutch, so you get a gradient from 100/0 Front:Rear bias to a 50/50 direct lock between fronts and backs like a 4wd vehicle. There is an advantage though, you'll chirp the front tires or loose some traction up front under heavy shock load conditions and release some of that torque throught lost traction. In a Subaru, for example, it always has all 4 wheels mechanically engaged to the transmission via the center diff... So where there is a hevay shock load introduced (harsh clutch engagement or sudden grip), all of that energy is directed at the transmission.

The sleeve is always engaged in factory form... It acts as the coupler between the transmission at the front and the driveshaft that goes to the rear where the haldex clutch is (via the angle gear, a small hypoid gearbox). So operationally it is no different than the stock setup, just much much stronger if welded to the angle gear's input shaft. Most of what I've read and seen suggest that these sleeves wear out rather than snap. The splines are very short on the angle gear side, and fit is somewhat loose on that side as well. The sleeve itself can take quite a bit of shock without being a "fuse," but bad fitment and minimal contact surface area cause the part to wear prematurely on the angle side. Fit seems better/tighter on the transmission side, and there's more than twice the contact surface area available on that side, so it's much less likely to fail on the transmission side of the sleeve.

My background: B.S. in metrology (measurement science) and professionally I deal with a lot of weld inspection, fabrication, and metalurgy... So this type of analysis is not alien to me.
 
#27 ·
The downside in a haldex system is that it is not really all time AWD... It is front wheel drive until the computer that controls it decides it should be 4wd... There is no center diff, but rather a clutch, so you get a gradient from 100/0 Front:Rear bias to a 50/50 direct lock between fronts and backs like a 4wd vehicle.
50/50 when Haldex engaged is only true if the front and rear axle have the same amount of traction (or each has "enough" to avoid any wheel slip).

If your front axle has near-zero traction (ice) and the rear axle has "enough" traction then when Haldex is engaged the rear axle will get near-100% of the torque.

FWIW, the Bugatti Veyron uses a Haldex system as well, conceptually it's identical to ours (or any other). Though since the Veyron is MR-layout, it's RWD biased instead of FWD biased.
 
#10 ·
This is very interesting. Since I don't know nearly as much about this as the OP and others here on SS. Any chance you took photos of this project? I'd love to really wrap my mind around the work it took you to make this happen.
 
#11 · (Edited)
Sleeve with 3 holes drilled


Sleeve on the angle gear and tightened down using threaded rod, ready to weld.


Sleeve plug welded to angle gear. I was a little dissappointed that the angle gear shifted a little on the drill press so the access hole isn't perfect, but what can ya do? Still just as functional, so no big deal.
 
#12 ·
Excellent response time! Thanks!
 
#14 ·
Very, very, very interesting! This is coming from a guy who has done two sleeves and I know what a PIA these things are. I really like where your head is at with this design man! Though one question, in both of my cases, and I am sure many others on this board, the sleeve seizes very badly to the transmission, and pulling it out is a bloody BI T CH! I know you are saying that this system is now foolproof, but say for whatever reason you have to pull your angle gear out. How are you going to get the sleeve to break lose from the transmission when you cant get the sleeve off of the angle gear to then fight it off the transmission?

Love the ingenuity man! Keep it up!
 
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#15 ·
instead of welding this on what about drilling/tapping the collar gear/angle gear and then use some sort of set screws to lock the collar on? Then if you can't get the sleeve to release from the transmission side you can remove set screws and pull angle gear. You then have the added benefit being able to thread something in those holes for more grip on the collar after angle gear is pulled off to fight the other side?

props to OP for going this route, keep us updated in the future as to how this works out.
 
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#20 ·
Nice to see someone trying to fight the "gremlins" in the system.
I was thinking of getting new LSD dif, and get the angle gear and dif to a shop to costum build the collar out of something.
Also it would be nice to get the intake shaft re engineered and made of stronger metal.
But as sad before, what will then brake lose?

Regarding your complains about AWD system being to "soft", do you run your car with DSTC off all the time?
 
#22 ·
I've been considering something similar. After I cleaned the spline on the transmission, the new collar slides on and off easily. I suspect that something was used on the original collar to seal it to the transmission output shaft. Otherwise I don't see what keeps transmission fluid from working its way out the spline and leaking out around where the angle gear meets the transmission.

If there is something else that provides sealing, one could just apply loctite 620 to the angle gear spline and possibly prevent future failures of this joint.
 
#25 ·
Been driving it for a few days now, no vibration at all at any speed. I payed a lot of attention to keeping the sleeve centered on the angle gear input shaft. That was the point of the threaded rod and nuts, to prevent any movement/misalignment of the sleeve while welding. Even slight misalignment could cause the bearings in the angle gear and trans some serious premature wear as well, So I was pretty careful.

Where are you? Can I pay you to do this to mine if it works for you?
Southern California. I'd help if you're willing to drive that far!
 
#26 ·
It's been a little while now and I'm curious to find out how this has been working out for you. Anything remarkable to note???
 
#29 ·
Wow....that is impressive! You're braver than me! I live in Michigan (Romulus) so winters can be brutal on AWD. I actually had a similar issue with my baby (06 S60 R) where I was driving home from work and heard a lout bang from rear end. Took it to dealer and "failed angle gear." Car had 95K miles at time so out of warranty. I was pissed as I was quoted $3200 to repair by my selling dealer. I filed a complaint with VCNA and was an extremely "Squeaky Wheel." Volvo agreed to cover parts & portion of labor....so I ended up paying $1800 out of pocket while Volvo covered the rest. It was a tough pill to swallow....but wanted AWD to function as Michigan routinely gets 10-18" snowfalls regularly during Winter months. Now my baby has 125K miles and running great. I'm selling it as my job now necessitates I drive a different make. Take a look at the pics (link in my signature). Peace
Rico
 
#31 ·
Removing the angle gear collar sleeve

I bought this 04 Volvo V70 R early this year...it was great deal from a local car dealer cause the AWD wasn't working, I work for Diamond Auto Parts in Fond Du Lac WI, I got a used angle gear from here...recently replace in the wrecked car.

Now the fun started Saturday morning...we removed the angle gear to replace the sleeve and the seals...My cousin help me yesterday and today....12hrs we spend trying pulling the sleeve...

SO FRUSTRATED.....

Do you have any idea how to remove this sleeve or what kind a tool did you used during the operation

thank you so much....
 
#34 ·
I bought this 04 Volvo V70 R early this year...it was great deal from a local car dealer cause the AWD wasn't working, I work for Diamond Auto Parts in Fond Du Lac WI, I got a used angle gear from here...recently replace in the wrecked car.

Now the fun started Saturday morning...we removed the angle gear to replace the sleeve and the seals...My cousin help me yesterday and today....12hrs we spend trying pulling the sleeve...

SO FRUSTRATED.....

Do you have any idea how to remove this sleeve or what kind a tool did you used during the operation

thank you so much....
They make a knock puller, basically looks like beefed up steroid battery terminal puller... two claws with angle pivots and a threaded shaft in the middle to pull away. Grind carefully two spots on the sleeve to where the claw can grab onto and place stoppers in the middle and thread that shaft through, it'll pull the sleeve outward as the thread pulls inward.
 
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#32 ·
I haven't done this myself but I've seen a lot of threads which claim that people have used heat, gear pullers, blood, sweat and mutilation to get those collar sleeves out... Keep searching and good luck!!!
 
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#35 ·
BTW, great idea!! I thought of something like this a long time ago but never went fully through with it. The input shaft is extremely hard FYI but my original thought was to drill a hole straight through and put a sleeved rod through the sleeve > inner shaft then weld it...

Your idea seems straight forward; how did you prep the input shaft, aside from chemical clean to prep for the weld?
 
#36 ·
Wow, such a great thread. I'll have to look more into this in the morning. Anything better than the usual threads that have been emerging regarding filters, oils, etc etc etc.

If my sleeve/angle gear every goes, I might be sending it to you for repairs even if you are located halfway across the U.S. :p

There was another method used by vlvo-tech, but his videos got removed. Anyone remember what he did? He connected something to the angle gear to keep it lubricated, but I forgot how it was done.
 
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